


Give the Hero Three Times Three

by writethisway



Series: Lost in the SSR Archives [1]
Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: Again, Daniel's thinky, Episode: s01e04 The Blitzkrieg Button, Gen, I Made Myself Cry, Kinda??? it's first mentioned in there, Pre-Canon, Realization comes in mysterious ways, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, but this is before Agent Carter starts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 21:23:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17650118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writethisway/pseuds/writethisway
Summary: It was a pity clap for him, and he hated it.Or, Daniel's diner scene.





	Give the Hero Three Times Three

_"So, I walk into this diner. This isn't a joke. I walk into this diner, and everybody starts clapping. And I look around at first, confused, and then I realize, oh, they're clapping for me, in my dress uniform, 'cause I served and came back alive, like you."_

It was Daniel’s first day in New York City. He had been home for a few days, but he then went off to move to New York City. So that’s where he had been for the past day, moving into the lowly apartment that he had the money for. Sure, it was on the second floor and was a pain moving into the apartment, with only yourself, but hey, it was fine by him. But he was exhausted, and hungry. So, he got dressed in his dress uniform, the only clothes thing that wasn’t in boxes, and goes to the nearest diner.

He had walked through the door when suddenly, all the people in the restaurant decided to clap for him. Daniel was confused, to say the least. He wasn’t sure who they were clapping for. He slowly realized it was for him, he smiled and curtsied, carefully moving his prosthetic behind him and semi-kneeling down. He sat down in a booth, nervously smiling. That was his first big reaction to his crutch, and he was nervous about what would happen to him. A waitress, Ethel, he saw, came over to him.

“What can I get for you?” She says.

“Whatever’s good. Never been here before.” He smiles.

“So, coffee, the meatloaf, and a slice of key-lime pie?” She smiles.

“Sure thing Ethel.” He smiles.

“No problem. That was the first time I’ve seen something like that before.” She smiles and nods.

“That was the first time something like that happened to me before.” He smiles.

She laughs. “You did well though, I don’t think many men would handle that as well as you did.”

Daniel chuckles, “I’ve had enough practice with people. It comes easily enough now.”

She nods and goes with her order to the counter. A few minutes later, a steaming cup of coffee is placed in front of him, with Ethel smiling. “So, you new to the city?” She asks.

“How can you tell?” He laughs.

“Because you looked shocked when they applauded for you.”

“Yeah, I’m from a small town. Not really used to the city yet. And even when I was in the hospital getting this,” he taps the crutch, “It was in a semi-small city.”

Ethel nods. “Well, let me know if you need anything...”

“Will do Ethel. Oh! And it’s Daniel.”

“Daniel. Nice name.”

“Thanks, yours is too.” she smiles.

He nods as she leaves and a few more minutes later she arrives with the meatloaf. He smiles and thanks Ethel, before starting to eat it. It was really good, and he looks up when another G.I. walks past the window and comes in. He gets ready to clap, but nothing happens to the other customers. He looks at Ethel, and then back at the G. I. shocked. What had happened since they won the war? Sure, it had been a few months, but damn, he thought that the other G. I, in his clean uniform, would get a round of applause of as well. That’s when he realized. They weren’t clapping for Daniel.

They were clapping because he made it out alive. Granted, with a crutch and a prosthetic leg, but alive. It was a pity clap for him, and he hated it. Sure, he had a prosthetic leg, but he wasn't broken, he just had to have some help. He realizes it as soon as Ethel brings him his key-lime pie. Daniel gives her the money and a little extra. “Keep the change.” He says grimly.

“Thanks, Daniel.” She smiles.

He nods and eats the pie, the bile slowly rising in his throat. If it weren’t for the other men, he wouldn’t have been here. He wanted to scream that sentence from the hills. But his voice wasn’t working. Nothing was working, except for his hand, which was working on picking up some key-lime pie, and his mouth, which was just chewing the key-lime pie. After finishing the key-lime pie, he gets up and moves to the door, before going back home, and sitting on his bed. Sure, he got applauded every now and then, but he wasn’t expecting applause, and then nothing for the other guy. Daniel sighed and got changed, before slowly drifting off into a dreamless sleep, not filled with applause and the silence that had followed.


End file.
